Shang Yang's Thought,practice And Contemporary Value Of Rule Of Law

In the history of China,about the way of state governance,the politicians of Western Zhou Dynasty emphasized "rule by virtue" and "rule by courtesy".During the Warring States period,hundreds of schools of thought argued,and the legalist school's theory of "rule by law" stepped onto the historical stage.Legalists pay special attention to the role of law in the governance of the country,emphasizing that "regardless of closeness and estrangement,no matter noble or poor,all problems are decided according to the law".It is the rudiment of the principle of "everyone is equal before the law" in modern law.Among the representatives of Legalist school,Shang Yang is the one who left relatively complete works and successfully presided over the reform movement.Shang Yang was an outstanding statesman and reformer in the Warring States period,and one of the representatives of legalism.Shang Yang carried out the reform of reform in Qin state,and successfully became a powerful country that other countries looked up to and feared,which laid a solid foundation for the rise of Qin state.Although Shang Yang died in the end,his legal theory and ideological heritage are still inherited and developed by future monarchs and politicians.In today's eyes,some of Shang Yang's ideas are obviously feudalistic,but it is undeniable that his legal thought has certain reference value for the construction of the rule of law in the primary stage of socialism in China.This article will start from five parts.The first part briefly introduces the background of Shang Yang's reform,and demonstrates the reality and urgency of Qin's reform from two aspects: the environment of the era when the rule of rites lost its effectiveness in social governance and the actual situation that Qin lagged behind other vassal states.The second part,combined with the book of Shang Jun,focuses on the analysis of several basic theories of Shang Yang's legal thought.The third part,according to the social governance situation after the implementation of the new law of Shang Yang,studies the progressive significance of Shang Yang's rule of law thought in the political,economic,military and social organizations under the specific background of the times.The fourth part,taking the modern rule of law as the reference object,objectively discusses the limitations and shortcomings of Shang Yang's thought of rule of law.The fifth part,connecting with some problems existing in the current construction of the rule of law in China,sums up the experience and draws lessons in order to "learn from history" and "make the past serve the present",fully tap the contemporary value of the thought of the ancestors,and better promote the great cause of ruling the country by law and building a socialist country ruled by law.